Prof. Shin Sang-heun / Department of International Commerce

Q. You are known as one of the professors who eat vegetarian food., What is your motivation to eat vegetarian food?  

A. There are people who usually take a lot of time to go vegan, but I didn't. It took me just 30 minutes to decide to go vegan. Now when I look at my smartphone wallpaper, I see a picture of a monkey with a chain around its neck. This picture made me think a lot about what humans are doing to animals, so I immediately stopped eating meat. It's been seven years.  

Q. Have you had any difficulties since you became vegan?  

A. It was hard because I didn't have much information in the beginning. These days, it's okay to have vegan menus in supermarkets, but I've experienced a lot of trial and error. For example, I ate noodle soup with perilla seeds that had anchovies in the broth. I think it was hard because of the ingredients I couldn't see.  

Q. The school didn’t post allergy marks separately, and there is no vegan restaurant, so I wonder what you eat.  

A. In my case, breakfast and dinner are half tofu. And instead of going to the school cafeteria, I often go to a vegetarian restaurant when I have an appointment outside. Or, I go to a Gimbap restaurant and ask them to take out ham, crab meat, and fish cake. That's how I usually eat Gimbap made for lunch.  

Q. Is there anything you would like for school learning?  

A. As I mentioned a lot in class, many universities in Seoul operate vegan restaurants. I think that student restaurants should be led by students. It’s a little unfortunate that it doesn’t seem to be working out well. So, I hope that students recognize the seriousness and unite for change.